(Bloomberg) -- Levi Strauss & Co., the maker of Levi denim jeans, rose as much as 0.5% Monday, the final trading day before insiders and other top holders will be able to sell shares for the first time since its March IPO .
Shares are currently about 6% above the $17-per share March IPO price, about in line with the S&P 500 gain in the same period. The stock climbed 32% on the day of its IPO to $22.41, but since then has run into some headwinds.
The Tuesday expiration of the IPO lock-up period could be the next catalyst for volatility in the stock. Levi has been pressured by a challenging environment in the U.S. wholesale segment, China-related trade volatility, gross margin declines and an inventory overhang, according to recent sell-side notes from Telsey Advisory, Guggenheim and Goldman Sachs. Goldman, one of Levi's IPO underwriters, is now the only firm on the Street that rates the stock a “sell,” according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
As of July 3, Levi Strauss had a total of 42,166,667 shares of Class A common stock outstanding, and 350,332,920 Class B shares, according to a July SEC filing. The Class B stock, each carrying 10 votes per share and convertible into Class A shares, is primarily owned by descendants of the family of founder, Levi Strauss, and their relatives and trusts.
Lead underwriters of the IPO included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, HSBC, Williams, Telsey, Guggenheim, Drexel Hamilton, Citi, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, BofAML, Evercore.
A spokesperson for Levi, based in San Francisco, did not respond to a request for a comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Freund in New York at jfreund11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper
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